I spend most of my time digging into Wall Street, hedge funds and private equity firms, looking for both the good and the bad. I also focus on the intersection of business and the law. I have worked at Forbes since 2000.

The World's Hedge Fund Billionaires

There are now 46 billionaires in the world who have derived most of their wealth from managing hedge funds. These hedge fund billionaires have made their fortunes by trading everything from stocks to bonds, options, currencies, mortgages and derivatives in financial markets. The money making machines of these hedge fund billionaires, however, have also been fueled by the rich fees they charge their investors.

There are six hedge fund managers joining the ranks of the world’s billionaires. Michael Platt spent nearly a decade at JP Morgan before cofounding BlueCrest Capital Management in late 2000. The firm, which is based in London and Geneva, has amassed $35 billion in assets under management, making it one of Europe’s biggest hedge fund firms. Platt bought the stakes of his partners in BlueCrest, including minority owner Man GroupMan Group, in 2011. His funds did not perform very well last year, but he is now worth $3.6 billion. Other new hedge fund billionaires include Francis Biondi and Brian Higgins, cofounders of King Street Capital Management, and Christopher Hohn, who runs The Children’s Investment Fund Management, a London-based activist hedge fund.

Larry Robbins, founder of $7.5 billion New York hedge fund firm Glenview Capital Management, has been a top performing hedge fund manager in recent years. Robbins’ successful bet in 2013 was investing in hospital stocks he thought would benefit from Obamacare. But he was also generally bullish in 2013, leveraging his stock portfolio to increase his returns. His Glenview Opportunities Fund posted net returns of some 100% in 2013, helping to make Robbins a billionaire. Robbins, who is 44 and founded his hedge fund firm in 2001, is now worth $1.4 billion. Another closely-watched hedge fund manager who is now a billionaire: Robert Citrone, who is worth $1.1 billion. His Discovery Capital Management hedge fund firm, based in South Norwalk, Ct., manages $15 billion. A macro manager who specializes in emerging markets, Citrone is a so-called Tiger Cub who used to work for Julian Robertson. Citrone stared out at Fidelity Investments and founded Discovery Capital Management in 1999.

For now, the net worth of Steve Cohen, one of the most successful and controversial hedge fund managers ever, has peaked at $11 billion. His SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund firm pleaded guilty to criminal insider trading charges in 2013 and agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines and penalties to the federal government. As of the end of February, the $1.8 billion of fines and penalties remained tied up in court proceedings and had not yet been paid to the federal government, leaving Cohen’s net worth inflated. Meanwhile, Cohen has moved to return billions of dollars to outside investors and convert SAC Capital, which is based in Stamford, Ct., into a family office. Nevertheless, Cohen has continued to do what he does best, make profitable trades and earn lots of money. SAC Capital knocked out net returns of about 19% in 2013. That was not as good as what the U.S. stock market returned, but it beat most other hedge fund managers.

The estimated net worth of the world’s richest hedge fund manager, George Soros, is now $23 billion. At 83, Soros remains chairman of Soros Fund Management, the $29 billion family office that manages his personal fortune as well as the money belonging to his foundations. He is not overseeing day-to-day operations, but Soros remains involved. He personally earned an estimated $4 billion in 2013 as Soros Fund Management returned more than 22%.

Ray Dalio currently runs the world’s biggest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, with about $150 billion in assets. He founded Bridgewater in his Manhattan apartment in 1975. Dalio’s net worth is an estimated $14.4 billion. But the last two years have been a challenging time for Dalio. His funds have not performed very well recently—his All Weather fund lost 4% in 2013 and his Pure Alpha fund has trailed the U.S. stock market and most other hedge funds over the last two years. At least the recent underperformance has not diminished Bridgewater’s popularity or esteem with the investment community, but his effort to build a new $750 million headquarters in Stamford, Ct., appears to have stalled over zoning issues. If Dalio needs any further inspiration about shaking off a rough patch, he can look to John Paulson, whose hedge funds came roaring back in 2013 after some tough years. Paulson is worth $13.5 billion.

James Simons is arguably the greatest hedge fund manager ever. The quantitative trader’s net worth currently stands at $12.5 billion. The math whiz and code breaker retired from his $25 billion hedge fund firm, Renaissance Technologies, in 2010, but he continues to play a role at the firm and benefit from its funds. Will anyone ever match Simon’s career track record? Maybe not, but one man is giving it his best shot. David Tepper has been knocking out incredibly strong returns ever since he founded his Appaloosa Management hedge fund firm in 1993. Over the last five years, Tepper has raised his game with his main hedge fund generating annualized net returns of nearly 40% and gross returns of some 50%. That performance has boosted Tepper’s net worth to a $10 billion.

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